Will You Call My Name?

[Paige Cane]

There was nothing on the second floor. Nothing but empty room and weird little nooks no one really liked to sit. No one...except for Paige and Magnus. Such an open and clear area wound up being such a private location for them since no one else really came down here. So she had pestered her best friend over breakfast, begging them to meet her here after their first couple of classes and, of course she had beaten them here.

So she was pacing a bit. Her mind still racing and unable to process that she had done what she had done...and with whom she had done it. It had been out of character for her...but gods, had she loved it. And now she needed to tell Magnus.

So when she finally saw the ethereal vision that was her best friend, Paige rushed to greet them, pulling them to a small seating space.

"I gotta tell you something," she breathed. "I, uh...I may have kissed my head student partner...and I may have done it a lot...in one sitting. And now I don't know what to do or how to act and we have to patrol together tomorrow night."

No...she wasn't about to outright tell Mags that her first kiss had resulted in a full and proper snog...but she knew they would likely pick up on it.

[Magnus Johansen]

Magnus was always glad to see Paige, especially when They knew that she had something that needed to tell them. It had bugged them all through their first set of classes. What could have possibly been so important that it couldn’t be said at breakfast but had to wait? But oh… did they love the mystery and anticipation. That was one of the best things about having a best friend. They got to hear all the juicy details of what went on in her life and be there to support her through milestones. 

Magnus plopped into the seating space beside Paige, scooting in close to her to listen to what she had to say before they were grabbing at her hands, barely able to contain their grin. Right okay, Head student partner wassss…. Grady? Was that right? Hadn’t they just heard about him kissing Lauren? Well. Not that that really meant much with the gossip that went around Hogwarts.

”Really?” Magnus asked, unable to hide the excitement from their tone. “I mean-… was it good? Do you want to do it again? Because if not I think that definitely lays some… pavement…?” Nope, wait, that wasn’t right. “Er, Groundwork,  for how you should act tomorrow.”

[Paige Cane]

Really?

Mags was clearly excited and it caused a small smile to spread across the head girl's lips. But the questions...how did she answer the questions? Her cheeks tinted red a bit and she nodded.

"I liked it a lot...he's...really nice. Gentle and patient." She paused and tilted her head. "But I feel bad...he's with Lauren...I can't believe I did that to her."

Despite being a proverbial guard dog...Paige could be quite soft and sensitive. And she wasn't sure how to proceed with her little newfound crush on Grady Harrison.

[Magnus Johansen]

Ohhhhh shit. Apparently the gossip had some merit. 

Magnus’s smile wavered a bit as he leaned back against the wall, still holding both her hands in his own as he cocked his head to the side in thought. “Well… I mean are they together or are they just-… kissing?” Far be it from them to judge someone for having a person on retainer to kiss from time to time. That was Magnus’s favorite pastime, despite being perpetually achingly single. 

“It can’t be all that serious if he kissed you, right?”  Shit. Did asking that make them a bad person?

[Paige Cane]

Magnus still held her hands but she notice that smile falter and she winced. Hells, she was a terrible person, wasn't she?

But her best friend's question made her brow furrow and she searched their face for a moment. "I uh...I don't know. I just sort of assumed, you know?" She cleared her throat softly and sighed. "I know they kiss...and I know they spend a good bit of time together? I just...wasn't sure what else it could possibly be."

It can’t be all that serious if he kissed you, right?

Paige smiled softly. Maybe Mags was right. Maybe it was all okay.

"Either way, I don't think it'll happen again. My parents are supposed to write to me tomorrow...I think they've found a husband for me. And I'm pretty sure he just pity kissed me...it's not like it's something he'll want to do again."

[Magnus Johansen]

Oof, always the parents. He felt bad for Paige in this regard, he knew how badly she wanted to find love for herself and that was hard to do when you were told from so young that you have a duty to uphold when it came to romance. Gross. Love really should be something given freely not a power grab and shackles. 

They sighed and reached a hand up brushing her hair from her face as they gave her a sad smile, brushing a lock of his behind her ear. They wished they could help. “And you’re absolutely certain we can’t convince them to just let us get married instead?”  They asked with a pout before letting out a laugh at her last comment. 

“Yes Paige, I’m sure it was such a travesty for him to have kissed someone as beautiful and as smart as you. He really took one for the team.” Their words absolutely dripped in sarcasm. “I do hope he recovers.” 

[Paige Cane]

The sad smile melted Paige’s heart and reminded her just why she and Magnus were best friends. They understood her. They cared so much and she was grateful for that. But as Magnus brushed her hair from her face, she just sighed and smiled.

”You know I would never let you give up your freedom like that,” she said gently. ”But I love you for caring.”

Magnus laughed, sarcastically agreeing with her and pointing out that she was beautiful and smart and Paige couldn’t help but blush. She knew she was brilliant. Her marks were hard time rival. She supposed she was pretty. But she just couldn’t wrap her head around Grady having actually wanting to kiss her. Especially when there was someone as stunning, charismatic, and outgoing as Lauren Rosewood in the picture. She just didn’t know how to compete with that. Did she want to compete with that? These weren’t thoughts she was used to having.

She sighed and looked at her best friend. ”This is all so weird,” she admitted. ”I know that I’m going to have a fiancé tomorrow but I’m here thinking about kissing him again…”

[Magnus Johansen]

“I know… it would be such a travesty to smile for a camera.” They teased, their voice soft as they hummed, leaning their head against their hand. “Who knows. Maybe if your luck strikes just right you’re betrothed will be a nice man you can stare at cause he’s pretty.” Hardly sounds like a travesty to them, but then again for all their similarities Paige and Magnus were very different. 

“Hopefully with a semi-empty head. That way you can maybe trick him into giving you a hassle free divorce.” They were just trying to find some upsides and maybe also make a bit of light of a very very shitty situation. It was in their nature after all. 

[Paige Cane]

Magnus was always so kind to her. They always had been. And they were one of the few. Paige would wage war on the very Hells themselves if they ever tried to hurt Mags.

So as her friend joked about smiling for cameras, the head girl just laughed. She adored Magnus and maybe had she been just a little more selfish, she would have let them make the offer to her parents. But Mags, more than anyone, deserved to find love and then chase it down. And Paige looked forward to the day she could hold their hands as they told her about their new special someone.

Mags talked a little bit about hopefuls and Paige just grinned.

”Maybe they’ll be someone lovely…someone I can genuinely fall for?” she hoped upon hope that the world would see fit to throw her a bone. She wanted so badly to fall in love and to be loved.

[Magnus Johansen]

Oh love. One of the great unknowns in this life wasn’t it? They hummed and draped an arm over her shoulder, brushing a lock of their own hair behind their ear and sighed, deeply, dramatically. “I suppose that’s an option. Not nearly as fun as a strange forbidden romance. Hopefully with less dramatics than Othello or… Romeo and Juliet.”

What even was a Shakespeare play that ended arguably well? He waved a hand brushing the thought aside. “Or he’ll love you with every fiber of his being and it will be happily ever after.”

[Paige Cane]

Paige smiled as Mags went on some tangent about forbidden romance. She just loved how their mind worked. The arm around her was comforting and she leaned into it, her head resting on Mag’s shoulder.

Or he’ll love you with every fiber of his being.

A couple of tears threatened to well up in Paige’s eyes but she blinked them away…just enjoying the moment with her best friend. Even platonically, Magnus would always be her first love. The family she deserved. Dark eyes looking up at them from their shoulder, she just smiled.

”Nothing will ever change us right? You’ll always be here?”

[Magnus Johansen]

Oh they saw the tears well in her eyes and gave her another sad smile before leaving in to press their foreheads together, scrunching up his nose as he gave a much better smile, squeezing her shoulders gently. Paige would never be able to get rid of them so long as they had breath in their lungs. She meant too much to them now. It hadn’t taken much anyways for her to earn their devotion. They were used to people being a bit wary of them, but Paige had never been. 

“You couldn’t change things between us or get rid of me if you tried.” Magnus said, instead of waxing completely poetic about their love and devotion towards Paige.  

[Paige Cane]

”I would never try,” she teased. There was no way Paige could ever replace them. She would never want to. This was her ride or die…her A1 since Day 1…the platonic love of her life. She didn’t know where she would be without Magnus.

”So what’s new with you? Still trying to talk McGonagall into letting you be the librarian’s assistant?”

She watched them with a playful smile.

[Magnus Johansen]

Ughhhhhh Magnus pulled back from their embrace with a laugh, shrugging their shoulders. They’d been trying okay? It wasn’t as easy as it looked to just slip in there and pretend you weren’t being weird. “I was told by our head mistress, to ask the man himself and that’s only a little intimidating given my current fixation.” Magnus explained with a wave of the hand as they crossed their legs and leaned back. 

“Why? Did you hear he was completely and irrevocably in love with me? So I need to run down there?” Snowflakes chance in hell but hey! A person can dream right? They were trying.

[Paige Cane]

Magnus' laugh caused a wider smile to spread across Paige's face and she watched them as they explained how their chat with McGonagall had gone. And honestly...it was probably about as good as Mags could have hoped. So Paige just smiled. Her friend's crush on the school librarian was super unconventional...but she was supportive and Mags wasn't wrong. The librarian was certainly lovely to look at.

Why? Did you hear he was completely and irrevocably in love with me? So I need to run down there?

Paige laughed...ever quick to be the rational and serious one, she never could with Magnus.

"His loss if he isn't," she goaded, ignoring the fact that despite being adults by age...they were straight up students and Tan wasn't an awful human. "He'd be lucky to score such a catch."